Solution chemistry: phase behavior, intermolecular interactions and microstructure of ionic liquid systems

Design and synthesis of functional materials and their applications in heterogeneous catalysis

Electrosynthesis of materials and electrocatalysis

​

09/2007-07/2011 Shandong University (Bachelor)

09/2011-07/2016 Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Doctor)

   

02/2017-11/2020 Postdoc, The University of Manchester; Research Fellow, Royal Society

06/2021-now Professor, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences

   

1. Hengan Wang, Ran Duan, Yiyong Wang, Meng Zhou, Wenling Zhao, Jiahao Yang, Yaoyu Yin, Shipeng Zhang, Shiqiang Liu, Zhongnan Ling, Huisheng Qin, Ke Li, Xing Tong, Pei Zhang, Qinggong Zhu, Yi Xu, Xinchen Kang,* Buxing Han,* Electrochemical coupling of CO2 and phosphite for foscarnet synthesis, Nat. Catal. 2026, 9, 989–997.

2. Jiapeng Jiao, Xinchen Kang,* Jiahao Yang, Shuaiqiang Jia, Shiqiang Liu, Xiao Chen, Cheng Xue, Zhanghui Xia, Mengke Dong, Ting Deng, Hailian Cheng, Chunjun Chen, Yi Xu, Mingyuan He, Haihong Wu, * Buxing Han,* Oxygen reduction intermediates facilitate stable and efficient CO2 electroreduction to multicarbon products in acidic electrolyte, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2026, 148, 37687–37695.

3. Jiahao Yang, Shiju Yu, Jiapeng Jiao, Shiqiang Liu, Meng Zhou, Yiyong Wang, Wenling Zhao, Yaoyu Yin, Hengan Wang, Shipeng Zhang, Zhongnan Ling, Huisheng Qin, Ke Li, Xueqing Xing, Qinggong Zhu, Yi Xu, Xiaofu Sun, Xinchen Kang,* Buxing Han,* Editable hydrogen bond network within the electric double layer for CO2 reduction, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2026, 65, e2945600.

4. Wenling Zhao, Ke Li, Ran Duan, Hengan Wang, Yiyong Wang, Zhongnan Ling, Huisheng Qin, Jiahao Yang, Lihong Jing, Pei Zhang, Bing An, Xiaofu Sun, Jianling Zhang, Xinchen Kang,* Buxing Han, Ionic liquid promotes CO2 photoreduction by relayed electron transfer and enhanced interactions, CCS Chem. 2026, doi.org/10.31635/ccschem.026.202607422.

5. Hengan Wang, Jiankang Liu, Ran Duan, Yiyong Wang, Meng Zhou, Shiqiang Liu, Yaoyu Yin, Huisheng Qin, Ke Li, Shipeng Zhang, Xueqing Xing, Qinggong Zhu, Congyang Wang, Xinchen Kang,* Buxing Han,* A high-energy hydrogen radical initiates efficient electrosynthesis of urea from CO2 and N2, Nat. Nanotechnol. 2026, 21, 1138–1144.

6. Yaoyu Yin, Zhongnan Ling, Shiqiang Liu, Yiyong Wang, Wenling Zhao, Hengan Wang, Jiahao Yang, Rongjuan Feng, Shipeng Zhang, Xueqing Xing, Lihong Jing, Qinggong Zhu, Xiaofu Sun, Jianling Zhang, Xinchen Kang,* Buxing Han,* Efficient urea electrosynthesis from CO2 and nitrate mediated by an ionic liquid bridge, Nat. Sustain. 2026, 9, 108–116.

7. Hengan Wang, Yingying Cheng, Yiyong Wang, Ran Duan, Meng Zhou, Shiqiang Liu, Wenling Zhao, Huisheng Qin, Jiahao Yang, Yaguang Peng, Lihong Jing, Yi Xu, Qinggong Zhu, Xiaofu Sun, Qingli Qian, Jianling Zhang, Xinchen Kang,* Buxing Han,* Imidazolium radical-mediated electron transfer enhances electrochemical C–N coupling for glycine synthesis, Nat. Synth. 2026, 5, 74–83.

8. Yaoyu Yin, Zhongnan Ling, Shiqiang Liu, Shipeng Zhang, Hengan Wang, Wenling Zhao, Huisheng Qin, Rongjuan Feng, Xueqing Xing, Lihong Jing, Yi Xu, Qinggong Zhu, Xiaofu Sun, Qingli Qian, Jianling Zhang, Xinchen Kang,* Buxing Han,* Ampere-level CO2 electroreduction to multi-carbon oxygenates in acidic electrolyte through surface microenvironment reconstruction, Nat. Commun. 2026, 17, 2353.

9. Hengan Wang, Meng Zhou, Yiyong Wang, Ran Duan, Huisheng Qin, Wenling Zhao, Yaoyu Yin, Jiahao Yang, Shiqiang Liu, Shipeng Zhang, Xing Tong, Lihong Jing, Qingli Qian, Xiaofu Sun, Qinggong Zhu, Xinchen Kang,* Buxing Han,* Dual redox shuttles drive efficient formamide electrosynthesis, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2026, 148, 8464–8473.

10. Yaoyu Yin, Zhongnan Ling, Keke Chai, Huisheng Qin, Shiqiang Liu, Shipeng Zhang, Yiyong Wang, Jiahao Yang, Rongjuan Feng, Qingli Qian, Xiaofu Sun, Qinggong Zhu, Yi Xu, Yongquan Zhou, Xinchen Kang,* Buxing Han,* Switching CO2 electroreduction pathways via polyvinylpyrrolidone-mediated water configuration control, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2026, 65, e23093.

11. Meng Zhou, Yiyong Wang, Shiqiang Liu, Yaoyu Yin, Yaguang Peng, Jiapeng Jiao, Jiahao Yang, Wengling Zhao, Hengan Wang, Ran Duan, Qinggong Zhu, Xiaofu Sun, Yi Xu, Jianling Zhang, Xinchen Kang,* Buxing Han,* Synergistic effect of mixed cations in the electrochemical doublelayer enables highly efficient electrochemical CO2 methanation, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2026, 65, e20997.

12. Hengan Wang, Xinchen Kang,* Buxing Han,* Progress and obstacles in the electrosynthesis of amino acids, Sci. Bull. 2026, 71, 13–17.

13. Hengan Wang, Xinchen Kang,* Buxing Han,* Advances and perspectives in the electrochemical coupling of CO2 and N2, CCS Chem. 2026, 8, 1249–1266.

14. Yiyong Wang, Yingying Cheng, Mingxin Gao, Shiqiang Liu, Huisheng Qin, Wenling Zhao, Xing Tong, Xueqing Xing, Lihong Jing, Pei Zhang, Qinggong Zhu, Xiaofu Sun, Jianling Zhang, Zhimin Liu, Yi Xu, Xinchen Kang,* Buxing Han,* Modulating hydrogen species for efficient and sustainable nitrate electroreduction to ammonia, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2026, 65, e24803.

15. Hengan Wang, Xinchen Kang,* Buxing Han,* Optimizing CO2 electroreduction: theoretical insights for enhancing efficiency across elementary steps, Chem. Soc. Rev. 2025, 54, 10156–10244.

16. Yaoyu Yin, Zhongnan Ling, Shiqiang Liu, Jiapeng Jiao, Yiyong Wang, Yaguang Peng, Xing Tong, Meng Zhou, Rongjuan Feng, Xueqing Xing, Yi Xu, Qinggong Zhu, Xiaofu Sun, Mingchuan Luo, v,* Buxing Han,* Enhancing CO2 electroreduction to ethylene in acidic solution by optimizing cation configuration on the Cu surface, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2025, 147, 25584–25591.

17. Wenling Zhao, Jiangnan Li, Ke Li, Jiapeng Jiao, Shiqiang Liu, Jiahao Yang, Mark D. Frogley, Yaguang Peng, Yiyong Wang, Hengan Wang, Shipeng Zhang, Lihong Jing, Chengcheng Liu, Sihai Yang, Xinchen Kang,* Buxing Han,* Enhancing CO2 photoreduction efficiency through improved interaction enabled by a decorated covalent-organic framework, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2025, 64, e202510550.

18. Shiqiang Liu, Yaoyu Yin, Jiahao Yang, Wenling Zhao, Meng Zhou, Huisheng Qin, Jiapeng Jiao, Yiyong Wang, Hengan Wang, Xing Tong, Yi Xu, Xiaofu Sun, Qinggong Zhu, Maohong Fan, Xinchen Kang,* Buxing Han,* Temperature-dependent pathways in carbon dioxide electroreduction, Sci. Bull. 2025, 70, 889–896.

19. Yaguang Peng, Yinlin Chen, Zi Wang, Yaoyu Yin, Jiangnan Li, Huanyan Liu, Jiapeng Jiao, Wenling Zhao, Ran Duan, Pei Zhang, Jiahao Yang, Hengan Wang, Xueqing Xing, Zhimin Liu, Sihai Yang, Xinchen Kang,* Buxing Han,* Selective electroreduction of carbon dioxide to ethylene over stable iodide-induced asymmetric copper sites within a metal-organic polyhedron, Sci. Bull. 2025, 70, 2641–2649.

20. Yaoyu Yin, Zhongnan Ling, Shiqiang Liu, Jiapeng Jiao, Meng Zhou, Pei Zhang, Xing Tong, Yueqian Fan, Jiahao Yang, Huanyan Liu, Xueqing Xing, Jianling Zhang, Yi Xu, Hongyan Liang, Xinchen Kang, * Buxing Han,* Modulating CO2 electroreduction pathways through controlled ionomer arrangement on catalyst surfaces via solvent dispersion, The Innovation, 2025, 6, 100882.

21. Yiyong Wang, Yingying Cheng, Shiqiang Liu, Yaoyu Yin, Jiahao Yang, Hengan Wang,Ke Li, Meng Zhou, Jiapeng Jiao, Pei Zhang, Qingli Qian, Qinggong Zhu, Xiaofu Sun,Yi Xu, Mingchuan Luo, Xinchen Kang,* Buxing Han,* Enhancing CO2 electroreduction to multicarbon products by modulating the surface microenvironment of electrode with polyethylene glycol, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2025, 64, e202420661.

22. Xinchen Kang, Lili Li, Hengan Wang, Tian Luo, Shaojun Xu, Yinlin Chen, Joseph H. Carter, Zi Wang, Alena M. Sheveleva, Kai Lyu, Xue Han, Floriana Tuna, Eric J. L. McInnes, Chiu C. Tang, Lifei Liu, Buxing Han, Emma K. Gibson, C. Richard A. Catlow, Sihai Yang,* Martin Schröder,* Hierarchical porous metal-organic polyhedra for efficient oxidative cleavage of β-O-4 bonds in lignin model compound, CCS Chem. 2025, 7, 1016–1026.

23. Jiahao Yang, Jiapeng Jiao, Shiqiang Liu, Yaoyu Yin, Yingying Cheng, Yiyong Wang, Meng Zhou, Wenling Zhao, Xing Tong, Lihong Jing, Pei Zhang, Xiaofu Sun, Qinggong Zhu, Xinchen Kang,* Buxing Han,* Switching reaction pathways of CO2 electroreduction by modulating cations in the electrochemical double layer, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2024, 63, e202410145.

24. Jiapeng Jiao, Xinchen Kang,* Jiahao Yang, Shuaiqiang Jia, Xiao Chen, Yaguang Peng, Chunjun Chen, Xueqing Xing, Zhongjun Chen, Mingyuan He, Haihong Wu, Buxing Han, Lattice strain engineering boosts CO2 electroreduction to C2+ products, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2024, 63, e202409563.

25. Jiapeng Jiao, Xinchen Kang,* Jiahao Yang, Shuaiqiang Jia, Yaguang Peng, Shiqiang Liu, Chunjun Chen, Xueqing Xing, Mingyuan He, Haihong Wu,* Buxing Han,* Steering the reaction pathway of CO2 electroreduction by tuning the coordination number of copper catalysts, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2024, 146, 15917–15925.

26. Yingying Cheng, Shiqiang Liu, Jiapeng Jiao, Meng Zhou, Yiyong Wang, Xueqing Xing, Zhongjun Chen, Xiaofu Sun, Qinggong Zhu, Qingli Qian, Congyang Wang, Huizhen Liu, Zhimin Liu, Xinchen Kang,* Buxing Han,* Highly efficient electrosynthesis of glycine over an atomically dispersed iron catalyst, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2024, 146, 10084–10092.

27. Pei Zhang, Meng Zhou, Shiqiang Liu, Xueqing Xing, Jiahao Yang, Peng Chen, Yaoyu Yin, Yingying Cheng, Xing Tong, Jun Ma, Qinggong Zhu, Xiaofu Sun, ZhongJun Chen, Xinchen Kang,* Buxing Han,* Tuning the surface field by embedding cations into metals to direct the reaction pathway of CO2 electroreduction, CCS Chem. 2024, 6, 631–640.

28. Fangfang Peng, Junfeng Xiang, Huisheng Qin, Bingfeng Chen, Ran Duan, Wenling Zhao, Shiqiang Liu, Tianbin Wu, Wenli Yuan, Qian Li, Jikun Li,* Xinchen Kang,* and Buxing Han,* Selective electrochemical oxidation of benzylic C−H to benzylic alcohols with the aid of imidazolium radical mediators, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2023, 145, 23905–23909.

29. Yaoyu Yin, Yaguang Peng, Meng Zhou, Pei Zhang, Yingying Cheng, Peng Chen, Xueqing Xing, Xiaoxue Ma, Qinggong Zhu, Xiaofu Sun, Qingli Qian, Xinchen Kang,* Buxing Han,* Highly efficient zinc electrode prepared by electro-deposition in a salt-induced pre-phase separation region solution, Sci. Bull. 2023, 68, 2362–2369.

30. Jiahao Yang, Xinchen Kang,* Jiapeng Jiao, Xueqing Xing, Yaoyu Yin, Shuaiqiang Jia, Mengen Chu, Shitao Han, Wei Xia, Haihong Wu, Mingyuan He, Buxing Han,* Ternary ionic liquid-based electrolyte enables efficient electro-reduction of CO2 over bulk metal electrodes, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2023, 145, 11512–11517.

31. Pei Zhang, Xinchen Kang,* Liming Tao, Lirong Zheng, Junfeng Xiang, Ran Duan, Jikun Li, Peng Chen, Xueqing Xing, Guang Mo, Zhonghua Wu, Buxing Han,* A new route for the rapid synthesis of metal-organic frameworks at room temperature, CCS Chem. 2023, 5, 1462–1469.